Project Management Consultant

NYC Educators for Better Alternatives

Founded in 2010, Eskolta School Research and Design, Inc., is a non-profit organization that helps urban public schools improve results for their most vulnerable youth. We consult with teachers, school principals, and school district staff to interpret existing data and research, use this to launch and share practices in their schools, test those practices in order to improve and adapt them to their student needs, and help them to disseminate learning so that more educators can learn from their experience. We complement this site-based work with coaching to school district staff and research on school-based work to better understand how change occurs in public schools. The research-based practices we study and support schools to put in place draw upon four core principles: strength-based culture to engage students and adults; transparent and frequent feedback loops to help students and adults know how they can improve; clear pathways to success to help students flexibly progress to their futures; and data-guided leadership for adults to collaborate towards success. Working with Eskolta is a unique opportunity to join an organization that is at the forefront of the effort to turn around the dropout problem through innovative education reform. We are dedicated to supporting a healthy work/life balance for everyone we work with by supporting a talented team while building a flexible workplace. To learn more, visit http://www.eskolta.org.

Project Overview

Eskolta is seeking a Project Development Consultant to manage a Participatory Action Research (PAR) project as part of NYC Educators for Better Alternatives, an initiative to highlight the impact of alternative education options for youth who had not succeeded in traditional settings. This job is temporary with expected completion in early-December 2017. It is the first phase of a multi-part project (continued work may be negotiated pending successful completion of Phase I). Details include:

September 2017:

Coordinate a group of at least 10 New York City transfer schools and partner organizations to contribute to fund NYCEBA.

Create a website for NYCEBA to establish an initial presence for the effort and recognition for its members.

October to November 2017:

engage in outreach and coordination with a small group of transfer school teachers to design, “Adolescent Development and Social Justice,” a one-credit high school class that will use participatory action research methods for participating students to research their and their peers’ experience.

schedule and coordinate a series of 4 meetings with teachers from 3-5 transfer schools to design a participatory action research class in which students: write the narrative of their experience in high school, interview the parents of other students to understand how they have changed, read about policies that have affected their lives as students from underserved populations, and design and review a survey for other students to identify their challenges and successes in NYC transfer schools.

Document these meetings, and engage in follow-up discussion with teachers as appropriate in order to synthesize and codify curricular materials designed in these sessions. Coordinate one meeting in which teachers meet with a panel of leaders from activist organizations in NYC to discuss policies that affect students.

form and coordinate a launching meeting with the NYCEBA advisory board, consisting of 6 school leaders and 6 school alumni committed to promoting better alternatives for NYC high school students who have not succeeded in the traditional high school setting.

Qualifications

The ideal candidate will be energetic, self-starter committed to promoting social and LGBTQ justice and racial equity in our schools by promoting better alternatives for students who have fallen behind, to start and organize New York City Educators for Better Alternatives. You need to be an entrepreneurial and highly organized person who believes deeply in the work to make this happen. Experience in high schools that work with underserved populations is a plus, have experience in curriculum development and leading professional development for high school teachers, as well as developing materials online. Also:

A self-starter with the ability to move a project forward in a small, entrepreneurial environment

A good listener, eager to grow and take feedback to learn

A progressive thinker committed to Eskolta’s mission and values

Flexibility, sense of humor, and an eagerness to get the job done.

Compensation & Time Commitment

This contract is for 12-18 weeks with total payments of $6,000 over that time period.

The expected time commitment for this project is approximately 10-15 hours, with occasional travel to Eskolta office in downtown Manhattan.

How to Apply

Submit via email to jobs@eskolta.org: resume and a cover letter describing your experience and why it makes you a good fit for this role. Applications will be considered as they are received.